Pól Ó Lorcáin
Paul Larkin

Chroniclers are privileged to enter where they
list, to come and go through keyholes, to ride
upon the wind, to overcome in their soarings up
and down, all obstacles of distance, time and
place.
Charles Dickens - Barnaby Rudge,
Chapter The Ninth

Understanding Life

Not everything is explicable
And it is precisely that
That needs to be explained.

2 comments:

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.

I was on a fishing trawler off the Summer Isles in the North West of Scotland. We headed out early morning from the port of Ullapool. New to the art of seamanship the journey became a nightmare as the swell got the better of the two stalwart fishermen. We headed back to calmer waters.
However, during this memorable voyage I observed the Artic Scewer. This long beaked bird would literally 'hang back' as the seagulls and other fauna scavenged the remains of the baskets thrown from the boat. Then whilst the young gulls gobbled the pieces of fish unaware of ensuing danger, the Artic Skewer would creep up on them and strike.
This image remained in my mind with the brown, green sea and the brine dowsing my face.
Although upset for days to come as my body became accustomed to Terra Firma, I remember with extreme fondness my nightmare of a day on the sea.
Pol, hope you are well and much love to you and yours.
God Bless